Spring Into Action

by Michael D. Polensek

I, like many of you cannot wait till Spring. What a winter! Having grown up in Collinwood, I can’t even recall when we had such swings in weather. Nonetheless, it is what it is and as a result of the “freeze and thaw” cycle, I don’t have to tell anyone about the number of potholes and ruts which have taken over our neighborhood streets. If you have a pothole or road issue, please call (216) 664-2510 to report it. Don’t assume someone else called it in. Be proactive.

Another weather related problem is with street lights burnt out. Believe it or not, salt spray from the roads can and will corrode what is referred to as the “cobra head” of the streetlight or even affect the transformers. If you have a streetlight out please call (216) 621-5486. If the cobra head is wrapped with black tape that is an indication that CPP crews have been out and that the entire head must be replaced.

If there is a car that hasn’t moved on your street for whatever reason, please call the 5th District Police at (216) 623-5505. Let them know the address in front of which the car is parked along with the make and model and license plate number or temporary tag if possible.

The Cleveland Division of Water reported that in January alone that they had over 500 serious breaks and leaks throughout the system as a result of the cold. If water is running on your street from a valve, crack or depression please call the Division of Water at (216) 664-3060.

As always, our residents are the eyes and ears for service related issues. I cannot emphasize the importance of being proactive. We have over 250 streets in Ward 8 and obviously City crews, inspectors and your councilman cannot be everywhere. So, your help is always greatly appreciated in helping to maintain our community.

Since my last report, City Council has gone into budget hearings to discuss and review the Mayor’s 2018 Estimated $1.7 Billion budget. Obviously, as I indicated to the Mayor during his time at the Table to present his “Letter of Transmittal” to Council on Tuesday, February 19, the two greatest concerns I am confronted with daily in Ward 8 are the issues of Building & Housing Code enforcement and public safety. He indicated that more inspectors will be coming on board. That is good to hear. However, what we would like to see in our community is greater follow-up and prosecution of absentee and delinquent landlords who have, for far too long “thumbed” their noses at the community and the city. We hope to see a more aggressive posture coming out of B&H to deal with these individuals and the problems they create.

With regard to Public Safety, the Mayor indicated that his Administration was going to try to put on four to five police classes this year totaling 150 new officers this year and an additional 100 in the first quarter of 2019. As I indicated to the Mayor, I don’t know if that number will even break even with the number of officers we have already lost in 2016-2017 due to attrition and retirement plus the officers who we will lose this year due to the same. At the end of the day – it is clear to all of us on the northeast side, especially in the 5th District, that we do not have enough police officers patrolling our neighborhoods day in and day out. The greatest deterrent to criminal activity besides an engaged community are the “Men and Women in Blue” patrolling our streets. On that note, we also need a police department that reflects the community they serve. Anyone interested in becoming a member of the Cleveland Police Department should go to the City of Cleveland’s website www.cityofcleveland.org or www.NEO.gov and sign up for further information or call the Police Recruitment Number at (216) 623-5233. We need more Cleveland residents in blue than ever before patrolling Cleveland’s streets.

Work continues on the historic LaSalle Theatre project and you can really see the new O. H. Perry Elementary School super structure going up above the East 185th Street skyline.

I wish to congratulate our new Cuyahoga County Council member, Mr. Michael Houser, who was appointed to fill the unexpired term of the Honorable Anthony Hairston, who was elected as the new Ward 10 Councilman. I look forward to working with Michael and Anthony on those issues of common concerns effecting the northeast side. Ward 8 and Ward 10 are partners on many initiatives and projects and we would like to see that grow.

Another big development has been the border expansion of the Collinwood Nottingham Villages Development Corporation. Their Board voted to incorporate all of the Collinwood Nottingham SPA (Statistical Planning area) as well as that of the Euclid-Green SPA along Euclid Avenue. They will also take over the operation of the Five Pointes Community Center located at 813 East 152 Street giving them two locations in the community to provide services. This is good news for our community for now the areas of responsibilities for our community development corporations are much clearer and concise. Northeast Shores takes in all of our community north of I-90 while CNVDC takes in all of that south of I-90. Before this, the St Clair Superior Dev. Corp. was managing a large part of the southern portion of Ward 8 and Ward 10.

Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) and the City’s Division of Water Pollution Control (WPC) are continuing to explore and investigate remedies to the ongoing basement flooding we have experienced along the residential streets off the East 185th Street corridor and north of Lakeshore Boulevard. We are hoping to hear shortly what those suggested remedies will be and how to fund them. I am determined to get to the bottom of these ongoing flooding issues. It is troubling after spending millions of dollars on sewer projects in our community that we are still having these types of problems. We need to resolve these issues this year and going into 2019.

As always, any business or resident wishing to become a stakeholder in the community, should get involved with either development corporation. NSDC can be reached at (216) 481-7660 and CNVDC can be reached at (216) 383-9772.

I look forward to see our residents at the numerous meetings and events in the community. As always I may be reached at my office at (216) 664-4236 or via email at mpolensek@clevelandcitycouncil.org.

Michael D. Polensek

Resident of neighborhood since 1956. Worked on East 185th street since 1970.